Semiconductor structures formed on substrates and methods of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor apparatus includes a metal substrate, a doped silicon layer on the metal substrate, a semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer, and semiconductor structures having one or more p-n junctions at least partially within the semiconductor layer formed by using layering, patterning, and doping steps. In an embodiment, the doped silicon layer comprises a heavily doped silicon layer. In another embodiment, the doped silicon region has a thickness that is less than a thickness of a cleavable region formed by ion implantation. In a specific embodiment, the thickness of the cleavable region is about 1-2 um. In another embodiment, the semiconductor layer has a thickness of approximately 10 um. In another embodiment, the semiconductor structures includes a vertical power MOSFET with the metal substrate configured to be a drain terminal contact region.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/189,163 filed Jul. 25, 2005, commonly owned and incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to semiconductor devices and in particular to various embodiments of semiconductor structures formed on various substrates such as metal and methods of manufacturing such devices.

Generally, conventional semiconductor manufacturing utilizes a number of processes to form semiconductor structures on substrates. The substrate is typically part of a wafer. A wafer is a small thin circular slice of a semiconducting material, such as silicon, on which semiconductor structures are formed. Standard device fabrication processes, such as etching, deposition, and plating are used to fabricate semiconductor structures on the wafer. After the formation of the semiconductor structures, the wafer is tested and then diced up to separate individual semiconductor structures, generally called dies, which include a substrate layer. A substrate layer (substrate) is often referred to as the base layer or body of the die onto which other layers are deposited to form the semiconductor structures. Semiconductor structures formed on the substrate may be discrete devices or integrated circuits. For example, the semiconductor structure may be composed of a single discrete power transistor, or may be formed from a number of transistors and other electronic elements, such as resistors, capacitors, etc., that are electrically coupled together to form an integrated circuit.

The substrate plays a critical role with the semiconductor structures it supports whether it is a discrete device, such as a power transistor, or an integrated circuit. The substrate is often used to structurally support the semiconductor structure from damage due to mechanical flexing. The substrate may also be used as part of the semiconductor structure, supporting vertical or lateral current flows. In some devices, the substrate is used as an insulator where the substrate is configured to insulate the semiconductor structure from other semiconductor structures or from electronically coupling to a conductive surface.

Depending on its properties and dimensions, a substrate may adversely impact the performance of semiconductor structures it supports. The substrate may introduce unwanted parasitic impedances and heat conduction paths that can affect the power consumption, the power dissipation, and the operational bandwidth of a semiconductor structure. For example, in the case of a typical complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit, the substrate may contribute to latch-up. Placing the CMOS devices on an insulating substrate e.g., silicon-on-insulator (SOI) instead of a conducting substrate can reduce current leakage and help prevent latch-up, however, the insulating substrate also may limit the heat conduction from the CMOS circuitry. For radio frequency (RF) devices, the substrate is often a critical design element with respect to transmission lines used to transmit high speed data. The thickness and type of substrate material is important to the transmission efficiency of such high speed signals. The substrate often plays a key role in the heat dissipation of the semiconductor structure. For example, a metal substrate may be used to help draw heat from a device to an external environment. Therefore, the thickness, material, and structural design of the substrate layer are critical components of the performance and structural integrity of the semiconductor structure it supports.

In certain devices, the substrate is used as part of the current conduction path. For example, the substrate plays an important role with the solid state switch which is a key semiconductor structure used for discrete device applications and integrated circuits. Solid state switches include, for example, the power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (power MOSFET), the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and various types of thyristors. Some of the defining performance characteristics for the power switch are its on-resistance (i.e., drain-to-source on-resistance, R_(DSon)), breakdown voltage, and switching speed. Depending on the requirements of a particular application, a different emphasis is placed on each of these performance criteria. For example, for power applications greater than about 300-400 volts, the IGBT exhibits an inherently lower on-resistance as compared to the power MOSFET, but its switching speed is lower due to its slower turn off characteristics. Therefore, for applications greater than 400 volts with low switching frequencies requiring low on-resistance, the IGBT is the preferred switch while the power MOSFET is often the device of choice for relatively higher frequency applications.

Generally, the switching speed, on-resistance, breakdown voltage, and power dissipation of a typical MOSFET device is influenced by the layout, dimensions, and materials. Industry design practice has sought to keep the on-resistance of the MOSFET as low as possible to lower static power loss and increase current densities. For example, in vertical power MOSFET devices, the on-resistance is composed of several resistances such as channel resistance, epitaxial layer resistance, and substrate resistance. The on-resistance of such a vertical power MOSFET device (as well as other MOSFET devices) is directly influenced by the type and dimensions of materials used to form the drain to source conduction path. Therefore, for a vertical power MOSFET, the substrate is a critical performance element.

In addition to the substrate layer, the semiconductor layers forming semiconductor structures such as MOSFETs and CMOS circuitry inherently impart an influence on the operational performance of the semiconductor structures. The substrate layer and semiconductor layers introduce parasitic effects, that are inherent in the substrate and semiconductor layers, to the semiconductor structures. For example, parasitic capacitances and inductances are directly affected by the materials used for the semiconductor layers and substrate (e.g., insulator, semiconductor, doping concentration, etc.) and the dimensions (e.g., height, width, length, etc.) used to form and support the semiconductor structures. Such parasitic effects generally lead to a degradation of the semiconductor structure electrical performance and operation.

Generally, smaller dimensions in semiconductor structures tend to reduce parameters such as resistance, power dissipation, and parasitic impedance. With regard to the semiconductor layers, for example, the thinner the semiconductor layers the better the semiconductor structure frequency of operation. Also, larger specific heat capacitance and more heat capacitive substrate materials tend to increase the heat dissipation ability of the semiconductor structures, whereas thinner substrates tend to improve frequency of operation for those devices that rely on the substrate as part of the conduction path. However, as semiconductor structures decrease in size, providing thinner semiconductor layers and substrates presents process challenges for semiconductor manufacturers. In conventional semiconductor structure fabrication processes, after semiconductor structures, other semiconductor layers, and metal layers have been applied to the substrate, the substrate is often thinned using a process such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Chemical etching processes have been developed to further etch the substrate to a thinner profile, but chemical etching process are difficult to control and often lead to damaged semiconductor structures that are inadvertently etched during the process. In addition, conventional substrate thinning processes have inherit limitations as the semiconductor structures require some structural support. Therefore, conventional processes to thin the substrate generally produce some defective semiconductor structures due to etching errors and the mechanical flexing of the substrate.

There is therefore a need for structures and methods to form semiconductor structures with optimized semiconductor layers and substrates to improve operational performance while minimizing process related defects due to structural stresses.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a formation of semiconductor structures and a process of transferring semiconductor structures formed in and/or on silicon layers, disposed on an initial substrate, to a base substrate such as metal, silicon, glass, and the like. In one embodiment, the present invention discloses methods and structures used to transfer discrete devices and integrated circuits from the initial substrate layer to a base substrate. The processes and structures described herein provide semiconductor layers and substrates with improved electrical and structural performance which provide for improved electrical performance of the semiconductor structures integral to and supported by the semiconductor layers and substrates.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of transferring semiconductor structures from an initial substrate to a base substrate. The method includes providing an initial substrate with an etch stop layer, providing a doped silicon layer on the etch stop layer, and forming semiconductor structures on the doped silicon layer. The semiconductor structures, the doped silicon layer, the etch stop layer, and the initial substrate form a semiconductor process. The method further includes supporting the semiconductor process with a removable support structure, removing the initial substrate using a chemical etching process that removes the initial substrate up to the etch stop layer, removing the etch stop layer with a chemical etching process, and depositing a substrate material on the doped silicon layer to form the base substrate.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of forming semiconductor structures on a metal substrate. The method includes providing an initial substrate with an exposed silicon dioxide etch stop layer, bonding a hydrogen implanted doped silicon material to the silicon dioxide etch stop layer, determining a region of the doped silicon material sufficiently weakened by the hydrogen to allow cleaving the doped silicon material along the region, and cleaving the doped silicon material along the region leaving a doped silicon layer bonded to the silicon dioxide layer. The method further includes forming semiconductor structures on the doped silicon layer, supporting the semiconductor structures, silicon dioxide layer, and initial substrate with a supporting device, removing the initial substrate, removing the silicon dioxide layer, and providing a sufficient amount of metal to the doped silicon layer to form a metal substrate.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a substrate structure. The substrate structure includes an etch stop layer disposed on an initial substrate. The etch stop layer is configured to provide a processing barrier to a chemical mechanical polishing process for removing the initial substrate. The substrate structure also includes a semiconductor layer disposed on the etch stop layer.

In another embodiment of the invention, a semiconductor apparatus includes a metal substrate, a doped silicon layer on the metal substrate, a semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer, and semiconductor structures comprising one or more p-n junctions at least partially within the semiconductor layer formed by using layering, patterning, and doping steps.

In an embodiment of the above apparatus the doped silicon layer comprises a heavily doped silicon layer. In another embodiment, the doped silicon region has a thickness that is less than a thickness of a cleavable region formed by ion implantation. In a specific embodiment, the thickness of the cleavable region is about 1-2 um. In another embodiment, the semiconductor layer has a thickness of approximately 10 um.

In another embodiment of the above apparatus, the semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer comprises an epitaxial layer on the doped silicon layer. In another embodiment, the metal substrate is configured to electrically contact the doped silicon layer and provide structural support to the semiconductor apparatus. In another embodiment, the semiconductor structures includes a vertical power MOSFET with the metal substrate configured to be a drain terminal contact region. In yet another embodiment, the semiconductor structures comprise a vertical power MOSFET with the doped silicon region configured to be a drain region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an exemplary n-type trench MOSFET in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a silicon material with a region implanted with hydrogen ions in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an initial substrate and the doped silicon material in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the initial substrate bonded to the doped silicon material of FIG. 3, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the initial substrate separated from the doped silicon material of FIG. 3 leaving a layer of doped silicon on the initial substrate, forming a semiconductor process structure, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure of FIG. 5 with an epitaxial layer disposed on the doped silicon layer, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure of FIG. 6, with semiconductor structures formed on the epitaxial layer forming a semiconductor structure layer, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a process handle mounted to the semiconductor structure layer to support the semiconductor process structure for processing, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure after the initial substrate is thinned by a substrate thinning process, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure after the initial substrate is removed by a substrate etching process, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure after the etch stop layer is removed by an etching process, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure after a metal substrate is formed on the doped silicon layer, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure after the process handle is removed from the semiconductor process structure, in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure prior to being diced, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure after being diced into individual devices, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to semiconductor structures and processes for transferring semiconductor structures formed in and/or on silicon layers formed on an initial substrate, such as an initial substrate for a power MOSFET, to a base substrate such as metal, glass, silicon, and the like. The present invention also pertains to transferring semiconductor structures formed in and/or on silicon layers formed on an initial substrate to an insulator for silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices. The process includes forming a layer of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) on the initial substrate. The process further includes providing a doped silicon layer on the SiO₂ layer. A doped semiconductor material is implanted with hydrogen ions (e.g., H+) to form a cleavable region. The doped silicon material is bonded to the SiO₂ layer. The hydrogen concentration in the cleavable region is sufficient to allow the doped silicon material to be cleaved. In one embodiment, the doped silicon material is annealed at a temperature sufficient to cleave the cleavable region. After cleaving, a layer of doped silicon material remains on the SiO₂ layer burying the SiO₂ layer between the substrate and the doped silicon layer. An epitaxial layer is formed on the doped silicon layer. Semiconductor structures are formed within and/or on the epitaxial layer using conventional semiconductor structure formation processes forming a semiconductor structure layer (i.e., a layer containing electronic elements such as discrete transistors, integrated circuits, and the like). The substrate, doped silicon layer, SiO₂ layer, epitaxial layer, and semiconductor structure layer form an intermediate semiconductor structure body. The method further includes attaching a support structure to the semiconductor structures to support the intermediate semiconductor process structure for further processing. Once the intermediate semiconductor process structure is supported, the initial substrate is removed using a mechanical grinding process followed by a chemical etching process using the buried SiO₂ layer as an etch stop layer. The SiO₂ layer is then removed using a chemical etch process. The doped silicon layer, epitaxial layer, and semiconductor structures form a second intermediate semiconductor process structure. A base substrate layer such as metal is then formed on the doped silicon layer of sufficient thickness to form the base substrate. The base substrate, doped silicon layer, epitaxial layer, and semiconductor structures form a final semiconductor process structure. In another process step, the final semiconductor process structure may be diced and packaged into one or more semiconductor structures, e.g., dies. In one embodiment, metal such as copper is used as the substrate formed on the doped silicon layer.

To better understand the exemplary process flow described above, the invention will be described in greater detail in the context of vertical power MOSFET of the type shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an exemplary n-type trench MOSFET 100. It is to be understood, however, that the principle techniques of the present invention apply to both discrete devices as well as integrated circuits using any processing technology. As with all other figures described herein, it is to be understood that the relative dimensions and sizes of various elements and components depicted in the figures do not exactly reflect actual dimensions and are for illustrative purposes only. MOSFET 100 includes a gate electrode G that is formed inside trenches 102. The trenches 102 extend from the top surface of a p− well body region 104 terminating in an n-type drift or epitaxial region 106. In one embodiment, the trenches 102 are lined with thin dielectric layers 108 and are substantially covered with conductive material 110, such as doped polysilicon. N-type source regions 112 are formed inside the p− well body region 104 adjacent trenches 102. MOSFET 100 includes a p+ body region 117 formed inside the p− well body region 104. MOSFET 100 includes a metal source layer 116. A drain terminal D for MOSFET 100 is coupled to a metal substrate 118 disposed on a doped silicon layer 114. The epitaxial layer 106 and body region 104 form a semiconductor structure layer 107 disposed on the doped silicon layer 114. The structure of FIG. 1 is repeated many times to form an array of transistors. A number of different power devices with various improvements are described in greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/026,276, entitled “Power Semiconductor Devices and Methods of Manufacture,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Although conventional vertical trench MOSFETs exhibit good on-resistance, they generally have a relatively high input capacitance. The input capacitance for vertical trench

MOSFETs, including MOSFET 100, has two components: gate-to-source capacitance Cgs and gate-to-drain capacitance Cgd. The gate-to-source capacitance Cgs results from the overlap between gate conductive material 110 and source regions 112 near the top of the trench 102. The capacitance formed between the gate and the inverted channel in the body also contributes to Cgs since in typical power switching applications the body and source electrodes of the transistor are shorted together. The gate-to-drain capacitance Cgd results from the overlap between gate conductive material 110 at the bottom of each trench 102 and epitaxial layer 106 which connects to the metal substrate 118 though the doped silicon layer 114. The gate-to-drain capacitance Cgd, or Miller capacitance, limits the transistor V_(DS) transition time. Therefore, higher Cgs and Cgd results in appreciable switching losses. These switching losses are becoming increasingly important as power management applications move toward higher switching frequencies.

One way to reduce the gate-to-source capacitance Cgs is to reduce the channel length of the transistor. A shorter channel length directly reduces the gate-to-channel component of Cgs. A shorter channel length is also directly proportional to on-resistance R_(DSon) and enables obtaining the same device current capacity with fewer gate trenches. This reduces both Cgs and Cgd by reducing the amount of gate-to-source and gate-to-drain overlap. A shorter channel length, however, renders the device vulnerable to punch-through when the depletion layer formed as a result of the reverse-biased body-drain junction pushes deep into the body region and approaches the source regions. Decreasing the doping concentration of the epitaxial layer 106 so that it sustains more of the depletion layer has the undesirable effect of increasing the R_(DSon) of the transistor.

In one embodiment, device on-resistance can be reduced by reducing the thickness of the semiconductor structure layer 107. For example, reducing the thickness of the semiconductor structure layer 107 decreases channel length. In one embodiment, a lower Cgd is also provided by providing a relatively thin doped silicon layer 114 on the metal substrate 118. The metal substrate 118 also provides structural support for the transistor structure. With the processes described herein, the semiconductor structure layer 107 and doped silicon layer 114 may be sized considerably thinner than conventional transistor configurations. For example, the drift region may be about 7.5 micrometers (um) of the overall thickness of the semiconductor structure layer 107 of about 10 um, including device region 104. In addition, as there is no thick initial substrate to contend with, the epitaxial layer 106 may be doped with a predetermined doping profile and formed with a reduced thickness to maintain an acceptable voltage punch-through immunity while decreasing R_(DSon).

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a doped silicon material 202 with a region 204 implanted with hydrogen ions (H+) and FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an initial substrate (e.g. a support handle) 308 and the doped silicon material 202 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Referring now to FIG. 2, the doped silicon material 202 may be doped by virtually any type of dopant such as Boron, Arsenic, and the like used to form semiconductor structures. In this example a dopant is used to form an n+ type material. To generate the layer of doped silicon 114, the doped silicon material 202 is doped with hydrogen ions to form the hydrogen rich region 204. An exemplary process for doping hydrogen ions into a silicon substrate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,564, by Bruel, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In one embodiment, the concentration of hydrogen ions is provided on the surface of the doped silicon 202 at a sufficient depth and energy potential to form a cleavable region 208 having an exemplary thickness of between about 1-2 um. For example, the doped silicon material 202 is doped with hydrogen ions at an energy level of 170 Kev to at a dose level of 5E16/cm² hydrogen ions to form the cleavable region 208 with a thickness of about 1.7 um. Because of hydrogen embrittlement, the cleavable region 208 lattice is weaker than non-hydrogen doped silicon lattice.

The initial substrate 308 includes a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) layer 306. The SiO₂ layer 306 is used as an etch stop layer and may be virtually any thickness that may be used to advantage. For example, the SiO₂ layer 306 may be about between 2500 and 4000 angstroms. The SiO₂ layer 306 may be grown or deposited on the initial substrate 308 using virtually any SiO₂ layer formation process. For example, the SiO₂ layer 306 may be grown using a thermal oxidation process. In one configuration, the SiO₂ layer 306 may be formed on the initial substrate 308 and/or the SiO₂ layer 306 may be formed on the doped silicon material 202 on the surface of the region 204. The SiO₂ layer 306 is described further below.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the initial substrate 308 bonded to the doped silicon material 202 of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the initial substrate 308 separated (i.e., cleaved) from the doped silicon material 202 of FIG. 3 using a cleaving process. The cleaving process leaves a layer 114B of doped silicon on the initial substrate 308 and a remaining layer portion 114A of the hydrogen doped silicon on the doped silicon material 202. The SiO₂ layer 306 may be bonded to the doped silicon material 202 using a plurality of bonding techniques. For example, after a wet chemical and de-ionized (DI) water treatment to render the SiO₂ layer 306 and the doped silicon material with a hydrophilic surface, the SiO₂ layer 306 and the doped silicon material may be bonded, e.g., at room temperature using conventional bonding techniques. After the bonding process, the doped silicon material 202 is cleaved from the initial substrate 308 using any number of cleaving processes. In one embodiment, the cleaving process includes annealing the doped silicon material 202 and the initial substrate 308 at a temperature of between 200 and 300 degrees Celsius for about 5 hours to 10 hours. The cleaving process includes annealing the doped silicon material 202 and the initial substrate 308 at a temperature of about 450 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes. The annealing process is used to break the lattice structure of the cleavable region 208.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure of FIG. 5 with an epitaxial layer 106 disposed on the doped silicon layer 114B, and FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 6, with semiconductor structure layer 107 having semiconductor structures 702, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Optionally, the cleaved doped silicon layer 114B may be pretreated in a CVD chamber to prepare the doped silicon layer 114B for the epitaxial layer 106 formation. The CVD treatment may be used to generate a more uniform surface. The epitaxial layer 106 may be formed on the doped silicon layer 114B using a number of techniques. For example, the epitaxial layer 106 may be grown on the doped silicon layer 114B. Referring to FIG. 6, in one embodiment, the support handle 308, SiO₂ layer 306, doped silicon layer 114B, and epitaxial layer 106 form an intermediate semiconductor processing structure 606. The formation of the semiconductor structure layer 107 may be done by any conventional semiconductor structure formation technique. For example, the semiconductor structures 702 may be formed on and/or within the epitaxial layer 106 using conventional semiconductor structure fabrication steps such as layering, patterning, and doping. The semiconductor structures 702 may also be formed on the doped on and/or formed integral to the doped silicon layer 114B. In one optional operational configuration, for MOSFETs, for example, the metal layer 116 is formed on the semiconductor structures 702. The metal layer 116 may be applied using virtually any process some of which are described herein. In another embodiment, after the formation of the device layer 107, the initial substrate 308, SiO₂ layer 306, doped silicon layer 114B, and semiconductor structure layer 107 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 706.

Referring now to FIG. 8 there is shown a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a process handle 802 mounted to the semiconductor structure layer 107 to support the semiconductor process structure 706 for processing. In one embodiment, the process handle 802 is temporarily mounted to the semiconductor structure layer 107 to support the intermediate semiconductor process structure 706. For example, in one process step the process handle 802 is mounted to the semiconductor structures 702 using a UV releasable double sided tape 804. The tape 804 provides an adhesive bond sufficient in strength to securely hold the intermediate semiconductor process structure 706 for processing. In another embodiment, the initial substrate 308, SiO₂ layer 306, doped silicon layer 114B, semiconductor structure layer 107, tape 804, and process handle 802 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 806.

FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure 706 after the initial substrate 308 is thinned by an substrate thinning process.

Optionally, in one embodiment, the initial substrate 308 is thinned using a mechanical thinning process such as mechanical polishing/grinding to form a thinner substrate 308A. The initial substrate 308 may be thinned, e.g., to about 8 mils to make is faster to remove with chemicals. In another embodiment, the substrate 308A, SiO₂ layer 306, doped silicon layer 114B, and semiconductor structure layer 107 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 906.

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor processing structure after the initial substrate 308A is removed by a substrate etching process. In one process, the initial substrate 308A is removed by chemically etching the substrate 308A with a chemical etching process using the buried SiO₂ layer 306 as an etch stop layer. As the SiO₂ layer 306 is configured to stop the chemical etching process, the semiconductor structure layer 107 remains untouched by the chemical used to etch the initial substrate 308A. The chemical etching may be done by any process to remove the initial substrate 308A. For example, the etching process may be done with chemicals such as acid, hydroxides, and the like, that remove the initial substrate 308A, but do not etch the buried SiO₂ layer 306. In one process, the chemical etching process to remove the initial substrate 308A may be illustrated with the following chemical formula:

Si+OH—+2H₂O→SiO₂(OH)²⁻+H₂   (Eq. 1)

Where SiO₂(OH)²⁻ is a soluble complex. In another embodiment, after removing the thinned initial substrate 308A, the SiO₂ layer 306, doped silicon layer 114B, and semiconductor structure layer 107 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 1006.

FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure 1006 after the SiO₂ layer 306 is removed by an etching process. The buried SiO₂ layer 306 may be chemically etched using a solution of diluted HF. In this configuration, the doped silicon layer 114B is used as the etch stop. For example, the SiO₂ layer 306 may be etched with a 49 wt % HF solution at room temperature. This example solution may etch the SiO₂ layer 306 at about 2.5 um/min. The etching process for removing layer 306 can be illustrated with the following chemical equation:

SiO₂+6HF→H₂SiF₆(aq)+2H₂O   (Eq. 2)

In another embodiment, after etching the SiO₂ layer 306 away from the doped silicon layer 114B, the doped silicon layer 114B, semiconductor structure layer 107, tape 804, and process handle 802 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 1106.

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure 1106 after the metal substrate 118 is formed on the doped silicon layer 114. For clarity, forming a metal substrate 118 is described, however, it is to be understood that the base substrate formed may be virtually any type of material such as metal, glass, semiconductor, and the like that may be used to advantage. In one embodiment, the metal substrate 118 may be formed using virtually any process, such as electroplating and/or using deposition processes such as plasma vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the like. For example, the metal substrate 118 may be electroplated on the doped silicon layer 114. The metal substrate 118 may include virtually any metal or conductor that may be used to advantage such as copper, aluminum, or alloys such as solder, and the like. In one embodiment, after forming the metal substrate 118, the metal substrate 118, doped silicon layer 114B, semiconductor structure layer 107, tape 804, and process handle 802 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 1206.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure 1206 after the process handle 802 is removed from the semiconductor process structure 1206. The process handle 802 may be removed using any number of techniques. For example, the process handle 802 may be removed using an ultra violet light process where the tape 804 is configured to release when exposed to a sufficient amount of UV light for a predetermined duration. In one embodiment, after removing the process handle 802, the metal substrate 118, doped silicon layer 114B, and semiconductor structure layer 107 form another intermediate semiconductor processing structure 1306.

FIG. 14 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure 1406 prior to being diced, and FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the semiconductor process structure 1406 after being diced into individual devices (dies) such as MOSFET 100 in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

While the above provides a detailed description of various embodiments of the invention, many alternatives, modifications, and equivalents are possible. For example, many of the integrated formation techniques described herein in the context of a MOSFET, in particular a trench gated MOSFET, may be used for other types of process technologies to manufacture semiconductor structures such as bipolar or CMOS integrated circuits, etc. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the same techniques can apply to other types of devices, including virtually all semiconductor structures associated with a substrate either as a process carrier or as part of the semiconductor structure body. For example, the processes described here may be used to transfer a CMOS integrated circuit from an initial substrate to an insulator. With regard to RF devices, the processes and structures described may be used to transfer an RF device and/or circuit to a substrate configured with a thickness and suitable dielectric to accommodate RF circuitry, such as an alumina-ceramic substrate. Furthermore, it is to be understood that all numerical examples and material types provided herein to describe various dimensions, energy levels, doping concentrations, different semiconducting or insulating layers are illustrative purposes only. For this and other reasons, therefore, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims. 

1. A semiconductor apparatus, comprising: a metal substrate; a doped silicon layer on the metal substrate; a semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer; and semiconductor structures having one or more p-n junctions at least partially within the semiconductor layer formed by using layering, patterning, and doping steps.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the doped silicon layer comprises a heavily doped silicon layer.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the doped silicon region has a thickness that is less than a thickness of a cleavable region formed by ion implantation.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the thickness of the cleavable region is about 1-2 um.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer has a thickness of approximately 10 um.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer comprises an epitaxial layer on the doped silicon layer.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the metal substrate is configured to electrically contact the doped silicon layer and provide structural support to the semiconductor apparatus.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor structures comprise a vertical power MOSFET with the metal substrate configured to be a drain terminal contact region.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor structures comprise a vertical power MOSFET with the doped silicon region configured to be a drain region.
 10. A semiconductor apparatus on a metal substrate, comprising: a doped silicon layer having a thickness that is less than a thickness of a cleavable region formed by ion implantation; a semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer; semiconductor structures having one or more p-n junctions at least partially within the semiconductor layer formed by using layering, patterning, and doping steps; and a sufficient amount of metal in contact with the doped silicon layer to form a metal substrate.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the doped silicon layer comprises a heavily doped silicon layer.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the cleavable region is about 1-2 um.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the doped silicon layer has a thickness of less than about 1-2 um.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the semiconductor layer overlying the doped silicon layer comprises an epitaxial layer on the doped silicon layer.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the semiconductor layer has a thickness of approximately 10 um.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the metal substrate is configured to electrically contact the doped silicon layer and provide structural support to the semiconductor apparatus.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein the semiconductor structures comprise a vertical power MOSFET with the metal substrate configured to be a drain terminal contact region.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the semiconductor structures comprise a vertical power MOSFET with the doped silicon region configured to be a drain region. 